


time started slowly

by 21hax



Category: In the Flesh (TV)
Genre: Character Study, M/M, Serenading, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-27
Updated: 2014-07-27
Packaged: 2018-02-10 15:16:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2029896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/21hax/pseuds/21hax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Music is a powerful way to spread the good word," Simon says as he plops down on the bed with the guitar in his lap.</p>
            </blockquote>





	time started slowly

**Author's Note:**

> There's a few links in the fic, they lead to youtube links of the songs mentioned, and one to a drawing I couldn't resist making :D

After a Walker family dinner that was blessedly much more civil and Gary-less than the first family meal Kieren brought Simon to, Kieren takes Simon up to see his room. Kieren flops down to sit on his bed, and Simon walks in slowly and looks around, lingering especially on all the paintings.

"You're talented," Simon says matter-of-factly. Kieren laughs and shrugs. "Portraits are one of the most difficult things to paint," Simon insists.

Kieren grins at him. Simon pokes around a little more, but with nothing even nearing the enthusiasm with which Amy had first gone through his room. He spots an acoustic guitar in the corner, buried behind a few canvases.

"You play?" he asks, grabbing the neck and looking back at Kieren.

"No, it's Jem's. I borrowed it ages ago to use as reference. I'm piano, me," he says, pointing to the other corner of his room where there's an electric keyboard propped up against the wall.

Simon pulls it out slowly, careful not to cause an avalanche. Kieren gets up and helps him by moving the canvases into a more stable arrangement.

"Music is a powerful way to spread the good word," Simon says as he plops down on the bed with the guitar in his lap.

Kieren rolls his eyes with a smile. He takes a seat at the little desk by the window.

"I'm serious," Simon says, his steady gaze fixed on Kieren, who still doesn't look convinced.

Simon looks down and casually starts strumming out a tune. It's not long before Kieren quirks his head in interest.

"Is that [Meat Puppets](http://youtu.be/9jPglNrZhkA), [Nirvana](http://youtu.be/uT1BuLYt2RU)-style?" Kieren asks.

Simon looks up at him, pleasantly surprised by his quick recognition.

"The original is so much better," Kieren deadpans, half because it's what he really thinks, and half because he wants to get a rise out of him.

Simon blinks up at him owlishly, his fingers stilling over the strings. Kieren fights to keep his face straight and stare back adamantly. Simon opens his mouth and draws a breath as if to say something, then huffs and closes it again. Kieren loses it and starts laughing openly. "Oh my god, your face," he says, still chuckling. He leans forward, bending at the hips, and gives him a quick [peck on the lips](http://21hax.tumblr.com/post/92993760730/). "I promise never to judge your crap taste in music ever again," he teases, his face still close to Simon's. Another chaste kiss, and then he starts to pull away, but Simon's hand flies to the back of his neck and pulls him back in. They exchange a few long, slow kisses and Kieren could swear he feels a flutter in his stomach.

They pull back and Simon looks at him before nodding at the space next to him on the bed, and Kieren walks around it to sit against the headboard next to Simon, stretching his legs out on the bed and scooting up against Simon's side.

"I'll change your mind about Nirvana," he says and starts strumming the chords to [a new song](http://youtu.be/tNd5cZ9lbM0?t=42s).

Kieren scoffs playfully. "The only thing Nirvana did was bring mainstream attention to the already-existing, better indie bands that came before them. Important to music history, not to me."

Simon raises his eyebrows and gives Kieren a little smirk as if to say, 'that's cute,' before beginning to sing the lyrics quietly.

Kieren isn't a fan of eye contact at the best of times, and he finds it's especially uncomfortable with someone singing right next to him. He ducks his head and rests it lightly against his shoulder, tucking himself slightly behind Simon so he doesn't disrupt the movement of his arm. He closes his eyes and listens intently to his dusty, smoky voice. Once the song fades to an end, Simon lays the guitar flat on his lap and tilts his head to look at Kieren.

"You know, before I joined the ULA," Simon starts slowly. "I hadn't picked up a guitar since I was seventeen years old. So I started messing around with it, a few things started coming back to me, but it was clumsy, and I got frustrated. A mate of mine from back then who could play real well, he told me he'd teach me. He told me I gotta slow down, be patient. Time is on our side, he said."

Simon takes a deep breath and looks up at the ceiling. "That hit me like a freight train. I had all the time in the world to learn how to play. I had all the time in the world to do whatever I wanted. In my excitement, I picked up a load of new hobbies. Got better with the guitar, messed around with the piano at the commune. Started brushing back up on my French, read everything I could get my hands on. I even took up drawing — started sketching everything around me."

Kieren smiles and thinks he'd love to see some of Simon's drawings.

"I felt like I was getting more cultured. Sophisticated. I could feed my mind the way it never let me do when I were alive, because the _noise_ was gone. That wretched, deafening drone that followed me everywhere and pressed up against my eardrums and eyeballs the entire time I was alive."

Kieren looks down at his hands and nods a few times understandingly. He thinks he knows what Simon means. While he can certainly relate to having that overwhelming feeling of despair, he can only imagine how it must have been for Simon who felt it all the time.

Simon sets the guitar on the floor, propping it up against the table next to the bed. Kieren grabs Simon's nearest hand and interlaces their fingers, with a naturalness and lack of hesitation he was never able to achieve with Rick.

"I like you," Kieren says firmly.

Simon looks at him in wonderment and smiles and says nothing, just brings his other hand up to card his fingers through Kieren's hair. Kieren has a feeling he says nothing because he would have wanted to say 'I love you' and that's okay. Kieren feels like maybe he needs this for now. He needs someone who likes him more than he likes them. After letting his love for Rick consume him and ultimately get him nowhere except six feet under — for now, he needs this.


End file.
